A46 to close for maintenance
It has been officially open since May, and the dualled A46 has endured a rocky start.
After previous lane closures caused by gypsum reacting with the road surface and causing it to buckle, a section from Bingham to Newark is again down to one lane.
The Highways Agency says it is to allow the repair of verges damaged by vehicles before they had to time to harden; to repair damage to the central barrier caused by a crash; and to finish roadside planting.
The 17-mile dualling between Newark and Widmerpool took three years and cost an estimated £362m.
The scheme was completed on time and under budget by about £40m, which was split as a contractual payout between the Highways Agency and Balfour Beatty.
A Highways Agency spokesman denied the scheme had been declared finished too soon.
They said it was always envisaged the planting would carry on into the autumn, and there was no way to legislate for the very wet summer.
“Lane closures are required to protect the workforce,” said the spokesman, who was unable to say how long lane closures would be in place.
“We strive to do as many different works as possible within a closure to reduce the need for further disruption.”
The Highways Agency is advising of four overnight closures of the A46 to install traffic-counting loops in the road surface.
The loops will relay traffic flow data and highlight if there is any congestion the agency needs to warn drivers about.
The northbound carriageway will be closed between Widmerpool and Bingham on Tuesday and the southbound carriage closed the following night.
Carriageways in both directions will be closed between the A52 Bingham junction and A6097 Margidunum junction on Thursday of next week.
The last closure is on the night of Friday, October 12, between Flintham junction and Farndon roundabout.
In July, the southbound carriageway was closed for a weekend to allow the repair a 70-metre uneven section at the A6097 Margidunum junction, near Bingham,
The Highways Agency said the road had become uneven due to the expansion of gypsum rock under the surface.
The problem occurred due to a chemical reaction between the naturally-occurring gypsum, moisture and cement used in the road building.
The reaction caused the ground to expand, resulting in an uneven road surface.
A section of the carriageway was excavated and the material that had gypsum mixed in with it removed before the road was resurfaced.
See the Advertiser website for details of the diversions for the latest closures. The planned work depends on the weather.
